Library Resources to Support K-12 Teaching

Curricula - Children's Books - DVDs and Videos - Instructional Materials on the Web - Professional Development - Tests and Measurements - Other Resources

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Curricula

Databases

• Kraus Curriculum Development Library Online
  KCDL Online is a searchable database that provides curriculum information on a broad variety of subjects covered in PreK-12 and Adult Basic Education. It includes citations for over 7,000 curriculum documents and contact information on the agencies that issue the curricula. Over 3000 full-text documents are available in the collection. Curriculum documents not available in full-text may be available on microfiche via the Library's interlibrary loan service.
  
• ERIC
  The ERIC database includes some curriculum materials. To focus your search on these items, use the Advanced Search option, selecting the "Publication Type" limit. There are several different limits that relate to curriculum materials, including "Creative Works" , "Guides- - All", "Guides - Classroom - Learners", "Guides - Classroom - Teacher Materials", "Guides - Classroom - General Materials", "Guides - Non-Classroom", and "Test/Questionnaires". There is also a limit for Education Level. For more information, view ERIC's help guide.
• Educator's Reference Desk
  The Educator's Reference Desk includes a searchable database of lesson plans, a question archive, as well as links to a variety of education resources.
• Mathematics Education Database = MATHDI
  This database provides the indexing contained in the documents section of the publication Zentralblatt für Didaktik der Mathematik (ZDM) / International Reviews on Mathematical Education, published by the European Mathematical Society. Approximately 50% of the content focuses on journal literature, however the remainder of the citations are to a wide array of materials: textbooks, research reports, conference papers, dissertations, curriculum guides, audiovisual materials, software, and monographs including citations for individual chapters. The database utilizes a specialized Mathematics Education Subject Classification (MESC) scheme that includes a digit representing the grade or difficulty level of the material.

Print Collections

• K-12 Curriculum Materials Collection
  The K-12 Curriculum Materials Collection is a new collection located on the 4th Floor of Regenstein Library and contains materials to support teaching, including some curricula. Learn how to locate items in the Curriculum Materials Collection.
  

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Children's Books

The University of Chicago does not have a collection of modern children's books. However, the Library has several tools to assist you in identifying possible reading material for your classes or students.

Databases

• Children's Literature Comprehensive Database
  The Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database includes 1,800,000 records for children’s books and audio books. It also provides reviews of books from over 30 sources, including The Bulletin for the Center for Children’s Books, Children’s Literature, Horn Book, and Booklist, and is updated monthly. The database provides extensive search options, including category/genre, age, reading level, grade level, language, and award books. To identify libraries that own specific titles, search the WorldCat database.
• WorldCat
  WorldCat allows you to search libraries around the country. To limit your search to children's books, use the Advanced Search option and change the subtype limit to "Juvenile".
• Books in Print
  Find children's books currently in print in the United States.
• Database of Award-Winning Children's Literature
  A free database, compiled by a children's librarian, which allows you to search award winners by several criteria.
  

Reference Sources

Below is a list of reference books on children's literature. However, there are many additional books related to this topic in the Regenstein Library. For more books, conduct a search on "Children's literature -- Bibliography" as a subject in the Library Catalog.

• 60 years of notable children's books / compiled by Sally Anne Thompson ; Association for Library Service to Children ; [preface, Malore I. Brown ; foreword, Toni Bernardi].
  Regenstein, 4th Floor Reference Collection, Call Number: Z1037.T46 2003
• Children's books in print.
  Regenstein, 4th Floor Reference Collection, Call Number: Z1037.C64
• Children's choices : teaching with books children like / edited by Nancy Roser and Margaret Frith.
  Regenstein, 4th Floor Reference Collection, Call Number: Z1037.C643
• The essential guide to children's books and their creators / Anita Silvey, editor.
  Regenstein, 4th Floor Reference Collection, Call Number: Z1232.E85 2002
• The Fountas and Pinnell leveled book list K-8 / Irene C. Fountas, Gay Su Pinnell.
  Regenstein, 4th Floor Curriculum Materials Collection, Call Number: LB1573.F638 2006
• A guide to children's reference books and multimedia material / edited by Susan Hancock.
  Regenstein, 4th Floor Reference Collection, Call Number: Z1037.1.G85 1998
• The guided reading kidstation model : making instruction meaningful for the whole class / E. Francine Guastello & Claire R. Lenz
  Regenstein, 4th Floor Curriculum Materials Collection, Call Number: LB1050.377.G83 2007
• Guiding readers and writers, grades 3-6 : teaching comprehension, genre, and content literacy / Irene C. Fountas, Gay Su Pinnell
  Regenstein, Bookstacks, Call Number: LB1576 .F65 2001
• Leveled books (K-8) : matching texts to readers for effective teaching / Irene C. Fountas, Gay Su Pinnell.
  Regenstein, 4th Floor Curriculum Materials Collection, Call Number: LB1573.F643 2006
• Neal-Schuman guide to recommended children's books and media for use with every elementary subject / Kathryn I. Matthew, Joy L. Lowe.
  Regenstein, 4th Floor Reference Collection, Call Number: Z1037 .M2865 2002
• A teacher's guide to children's books / Nancy Larrick
  Regenstein, 4th Floor Reference Collection, Call Number: Z1037.L34

Children's Literary Awards

• Literary and Related Awards
  A comprehensive list of children's literature and media awards from the Association for Library Services for Children.

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DVDs and Videos

The Library has an extensive collection of educational films, however, most of the items are not directed at a juvenile audience. The Library's Video and DVD collection is located on the 4th Floor of the Regenstein Library, and are arranged by call number.

• Library Catalog
  Use the Advanced Keyword option limiting to "Films, videos, DVDs, slides, etc."
• Lens
  The Library's new search interface Lens provides a facet to limit your search results to videos or DVDs. Or, you can use the Advanced Search option and select "Audio and Visual".
• WorldCat
  Many videos and DVDs are available via the Library's interlibrary loan service. Please allow 10-15 days for delivery. To make a request from WorldCat, click on the Find It! icon in the record for the film.

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Instructional Materials on the Web

• Awesome Library: K-12 Education Directory
  This is a directory of reviewed educational web sites useful for parents, students, and teachers. The site is organized into subject areas and in the teacher section, annotated links to lesson plans are included.
• Blue Web'n
  Sponsored by Pacific Bell, Blue Web'n "is an online library of 1700+ outstanding Internet sites categorized by subject, grade level, and format (lessons, activities, projects, resources, references, & tools)." You can search for educational web sites using: Content Areas, Subject Area, and Grade Level. Each week 5 new sites are added and an email alerting service is available.
• DiscoverySchool.com
  Sponsored by the Discovery Channel, this site includes resources for students, parents and teachers. In addition to teaching tools, and lesson plans, the site hosts well-known guides created for teachers such as Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators (Internet resources for teaching and learning) and Janice VanCleave's Science Fair Central.
• Edsitement
  "The Best of the Humanities on the Web" is offered by the National Endowment for the Humanities in partnership with the National Trust for the Humanities, and the MarcoPolo Education Foundation. The web site offers annotated links to online humanities resources from museums, libraries, cultural institutions, universities and more. Subject categories covered are art and culture, foreign languages, history and social studies, and literature and language arts.
• Education World
  Sponsored by American Fidelity Assurance Company, this web site bills itself as "The Educator's Best Friend." A wide array of resources are available including a World Schools Directory, lesson plans, professional development and career information, reviews of Internet resources for various subjects, and technology tips.
• Educator's Reference Desk: Lesson Plans
  This site contains the archive of more than 2000 unique lesson plans which previously were written and submitted to AskERIC by teachers from all over the United States. You can browse by subject area and a search can be restricted by grade level. Also available is a Write-A-Lesson-Plan Guide.
• Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE)
  Hosted by the U.S. Department of Education, this is a directory of learning and teaching resources available from more than 30 federal agencies.
• Resources for Teachers (Illinois State Board of Education)
  ISBE offers a variety of information for teachers ranging from certification and grant requirements to texts of laws and learning standards.
• Library of Congress Learning Page
  This site includes a number of guides, lesson plans and resources to assist teachers in utilizing the various American Memory collections. It also includes annotated links to additional web sites.
• Thinkfinity
  Free educational resources, funded by the Verizon Foundation.
  
• New York Times Learning Network
  Offers resources for K-12 students, parents and teachers.
• OurDocuments.gov
  Hosted by the U.S. National Archives and Records Adminstration, this site offers full text of significant documents in American History along with a teacher's toolbox with activities, bibliographies and more.
• PBS TeacherSource
  Thousands of lesson plans and activities, organized in broad topics such as Health and Fitness and Social Studies. Also monthly themes, Concepts Across the Curriculum.
• Teachers.net
  This web site for teachers focuses on providing networking opportunities such as chat rooms and live online meetings. It includes lesson plans and curriculum resources.
• Basic Learning Materials
  This is a UNESCO Education for All initiative to assist in the preparation and distribution of instructional materials in the developing world. It works to strengthen national infrastructures of the "book sector" and to generate a wide range of reading materials needed by a literate society. UNESCO defines "book sector" as a "term used to describe the holistic view of all aspects and activities that touch upon the writing, publishing, production and printing, distribution, sale, promotion and utilization of books and other printed materials." The web site includes detailed information about this initiative, research reports and surveys, and programmatic assistance such as A Guide to Sustainable Book Provision and a Handbook for Writers of Children's Books.

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Professional Development

The following resources can be helpful for learning about different topics relating to education, teaching, and related issues.

• Education Abstracts
  Education Abstracts indexes English-language periodicals and yearbooks published in the U.S. and elsewhere. Citations are included for publications since 1983, and abstracts from 1994 to the present. Subjects include administration, teaching methods and curriculum, literacy, government funding, and more. Covers every age and sector of the educational community from preschool through college. Provides citations for every article of at least one column in length taken from more than 550 sources. Includes citations to book reviews and selected series and supplements. The database is updated monthly. Earlier coverage is available from the print index The Education Index from 1929-2004 (Location: Regenstein, 4th Floor Reference Collection ; Call Number: Z5813.E25).
  
• Educational Administration Abstracts
  Abstracts and summaries of the latest information, research findings and ideas on management aspects of topics such as personnel, curriculum, school-community relations, supervision, minority group relations and professional education. Coverage begins at volume 34, 1999. A print copy is available in the 4th Floor Reference Collection, call number: LB2806.A1E23.
• Educator's Reference Desk
  The Educator's Reference Desk provides an extensive collection of resources on topics related to education, including evaluation, family life, counseling, educational technology, libraries, and teaching. A good starting point for an overview of key issues in education.
• ERIC
  ERIC is the largest database of materials for education in world. It contains annotated references to journal articles and to nonjournal documents such as research reports, lesson plans, curriculum guides, information analyses, conferences presentations, bibliographies and more. Coverage begins with 1966 and more than 1,000,000 records are included. More information about the ERIC database is available.
  
• Professional Development Collection
  Specialized collection of journals designed for professional educators. Full-text is included for approximately 500 titles, with some content dating as far back as 1965. The database includes indexing only for about 100 additional titles.
• Teacher Reference Center Freely Available
  This index of over 260 titles from the most popular teacher and administrator trade journals, periodicals, and books is now also offered free via the EBSCOhost platform. This database provides coverage on key education topics such as Assessment, Continuing Education, Current Pedagogical Research, Curriculum Development, Instructional Media, Language Arts, Literacy Standards, Science & Mathematics, and more for K-12 Teachers & Librarians.

See also our guide to Teacher Education.

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Tests and Measurements

• Mental Measurements Yearbook
  This searchable database includes extracts from the full-text of the reviews and descriptive information about tests and measurement instruments that are contained in the print title of the same name (Z5814.P8R91 Regenstein 4th Floor Reading Room). Coverage begins with the 9th edition (1980) and continues to the present. The database is updated every six months. The producer of the database, the Buros Institute of Mental Measurements, removes older entries from the database when a new edition of a test is published. Buros offers a free service, Test Reviews Online, that provides excerpts from reviews for more than 4,000 commercially published tests.
• Test Collection
  The University of Chicago has a non-circulating Test Collection, which contains separately published standardized printed instruments utilized in the fields of education and psychology. The collection now includes more than 5,200 separately published tests, dating back to some published in the early decades of the twentieth century. Especially well represented are measurement instruments for general personality, intelligence, and achievement.

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Other Resources

Other Curriculum Materials Centers

• ACRL Directory of Curriculum Materials Centers 5th ed.
  A guides to Curriculum Materials Centers in libraries in the United States and Canada. Older editions are available in print at the Regenstein Library's 4th Floor Reference Collection. Call Number: LB3044.72.D57.
• Curriculum Collection at Northwestern University Library
  U of C students and faculty can obtain borrowing privileges at Northwestern University Library.